" Bull hockey. Corporations and any company exist for the sole purpose of enriching their shareholders. "

Steven, thanks for the clear and unambiguous statement : )

Public companies first responsibility is to shareholders. Period. If adding new employees improves the bottom line and shareholder stock value, then that happens. If adding robots and technology improves the bottom line--bye bye workers. STOCK PRICE rules.

Everyone needs to be clear where primary concerns lie in public companies--mostly in the paychecks of the senior executives. I was there. It's not a myth.

WSJ Video: I suggest everyone watch this 20 second video and watch the CEO's when asked if they would make capital investments with corporate tax reform.

VIDEO: CEOs asked if they plan to increase their company's capital investments if the GOP's tax bill passes. A few hands go up. "Why aren't the other hands up?" Gary Cohn asks.#WSJCEOCouncilpic.twitter.com/TD2oAlN27S

Simplifying the tax code by eliminating deductions which this flawed tax bill tries to do. Increase revenues by raising rates on the richest. Once you have the budget balanced by reducing defense spending, removing the income cap on payroll taxes, and means testing social security, then put a balanced budget amendment in place

Sec. 1301. Repeal of overall limitation on itemized deductions.Sec. 1302. Mortgage interest.Sec. 1303. Repeal of deduction for certain taxes not paid or accrued in a trade or business.Sec. 1304. Repeal of deduction for personal casualty losses.Sec. 1305. Limitation on wagering losses.Sec. 1306. Charitable contributions.Sec. 1307. Repeal of deduction for tax preparation expenses.Sec. 1308. Repeal of medical expense deduction.Sec. 1309. Repeal of deduction for alimony payments.Sec. 1310. Repeal of deduction for moving expenses.Sec. 1311. Termination of deduction and exclusions for contributions to medical savings accounts.Sec. 1312. Denial of deduction for expenses attributable to the trade or business of being an employee

Subtitle E—Simplification and reform of exclusions and taxable compensation

The only thing that matters is the IMPACT, not a laundry list of "aren't we fabulous"

A list says noting.

Analysis says everything. A review of multiple analyses will give you and others a better understanding.

Again, a list does nothing. Only analysis provides light.

16. Thomas C (11/21/2017 9:47:08 AM) Message ID #294042

View All Related Messages"Liberals are denouncing Republican tax reform as a giveaway to big corporations, as they always do. But the irony is that the Senate and House bills would do far more to stop corporate tax gaming than anything the Obama Administration did in eight years. This includes preventing tax avoidance, levelling the tax field for U.S. multinationals, and stopping corporate inversions.

Start with cutting the corporate rate to 20% from 35%, which in a stroke offers less incentive for companies to move capital, income and intellectual property out of the U.S. to lower tax climes. During the Obama Administration, many U.S. companies “inverted” by merging with smaller foreign competitors to take advantage of lower tax rates abroad. The U.S. has the highest corporate rate in the developed world, whose average is 25%.

Inversions seek to make American companies more globally competitive and let them reinvest in the U.S. tax free. Under the current U.S. worldwide tax system, companies can defer taxes on their overseas profits until they bring them home—and then get smacked with the full 35% rate. Hence, corporations have parked $2.5 trillion or more abroad.

Both Senate and House bills move to a territorial system that exempts most foreign income from taxation. Most advanced economies have territorial systems, but they also have safeguards—i.e., base-erosion rules—to prevent abuse. Without these rules, companies could shift domestic income through foreign affiliates to lower tax jurisdictions and then bring the profits home without paying taxes.

The House and Senate bills would impose an effective 10% rate on intangible property of U.S. multinationals that is held overseas. In return, U.S. companies like Apple and Google would be able to repatriate their income tax free. The Senate bill also creates a virtual patent box to entice foreign companies to move their patents to the U.S. by taxing their subsidiaries’ royalties at 12.5%.

Both bills would also prevent foreign multinationals from abusing “transfer pricing”—that is, inflating the price that their U.S. affiliates pay to license IP in order to shift profits overseas. U.S. companies can deduct these payments, and their foreign affiliates then pay taxes at lower rates. The potential for tax arbitrage is greater for IP since it’s hard for government authorities to value. What is a reasonable royalty for a patent? Apple will surely differ from the IRS.

To deter tax avoidance, the House bill threatens a 20% excise tax on all payments from U.S. affiliates to related foreign companies. However, American companies can avoid the excise tax by declaring the payments “effectively controlled income,” which would then be subject to the U.S. 20% corporate rate minus expenses and foreign tax credits. The bill would be minimal for most companies that aren’t exploiting tax havens, but would nonetheless prevent tax arbitrage.

• Inheritance tax how would this help the middle class? It would help those with big assets and small cash flows, but are these the middle class living from paycheck to paycheck?

• Fewer deductionsLook at the loopholes stimulating special interests. The Rich have lobbyed for ethanol deductions, research costs, investment spending.

Look at the deductions for the middle class - home mortgage interest to spur home ownership, educational deductions to spur the education of the population, there is one line on the normal tax return which gives an added deduction if YOU are over 65 (or if your spouse is also over 65) another line deduction if you are blind attempting to help the elderly and handicapped.

• Lower corporate taxA famous example against lower rates is General Electric getting a tax credit on billions in profits? Just what is the average corporate tax rate with all the special interest tax loopholes?

• Something else?An HONEST OPEN strategy to tax successful wealth created inside this country while targeting tax credits to encourage spending for savings, home ownership, education, or specific industrial investment.

And yet the corporate RICH GUYS tax cuts are PERMANENT at the same time the middle class tax cuts are temporary of only 10 years when Republicans "HOPE" they would be continued. Yet Republicans are on a kick to remove the added costs of social security, help to the poor and very young and very old all to keep fueling unlimited spending on defense.

"Liberals are denouncing Republican tax reform as a giveaway to big corporations, as they always do.

It's not just liberals. Otherwise, they wouldn't be sweating the vote, right?

20. Tams Bixby (11/21/2017 10:33:54 AM) Message ID #294046

View All Related MessagesIf you want to change the Tax Structure of this country to something that will be FAIR on everybody, here's how to do it (it's a 4-step process and requires they ALL be done) ...